Illnesses of the Spirit Among the Serer of Senegal

Beiser, Morton; Burr, Winthrop A.; Ravel, Jean-Louis; Collomb, H

doi:10.1176/ajp.130.8.881

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Symptoms identified by the family as the most common indicators of mental disorder were not the ones diagnosed in the hospital. This parallels the findings of a number of studies done in other communities (Beiser, 1973;Edgerton, 1966;Westermeyer, 1979aWestermeyer, , 1979b.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Cross-Cultural Indicators of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Aggressive General Hospital Patients

Schlebusch

Wessels

Rzadkowolsky

1990

South African Journal of Psychology

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In this study the authors researched cross-eultural identification of aggressive behaviour disturbances as identifying factors for patients' family members to seek professional help for the patients. Patients (N = 40), mainly Zulu-speaking were drawn from the outpatient clinic of a large academic general hospital. In all 23 (57,5%) of the patients and 25 (62,5%) of the relatives were urbanized. A comparison was made between what the patients' families considered problematic as opposed to formal professional diagnostic and aetiological considerations in the same patients. Several trends emerged from the results. It was demonstrated that the behavioural disturbances formed the most important set of identifying criteria for the family of the index patient. It held true for people in various stages of urbanization. Cognitive, mood and perceptual disturbances were of a lesser identifying value to families. Predictably, there were some differences between urban and rural families. Rural families were more attuned to the patient's problems but generally remained more tolerant of the aggressive behaviour and were less ready to seek professional help. These findings, some known from clinical observations and anecdotal communications, have seldom been objectively analysed -particularly in Africa. Implications for management, along with various related crosscultural issues, are discussed.In hierdie studie het die outeurs die kruis-kulturele identifikasie van aggressiewe gedragsverteurings nagevors as identifiserende faktore vir pasients se gesinslede om professionele hulp vir die pasianta te versoek. Pasisnta (N = 40), hoafsaaklik Zulusprekend, is geneem vanuit die buita-pasiente kliniek van 'n groat akademiese algemene hospitaal. 'n Totaal van 23 (57,5%) pasienta en 25 (62,5%) gesinslede was verstedelik. 'n Vergelyking is getref tussen wat die pasienta se gesinne as problematies beskou het teenoor formeIe professionele diagnostiese en etiologiese oorwegings in dieselfde pastente, Verskeie neigings is deur die resultate uitgelig. Dit is gedemonstreer dat die gedragsversteurings die belangrikste stel identifiseringskriteria vir die gesinne van die lndekspasiente was. Dit was die geval vir individue in verskeie stadia van verstedeliking. Kognitiewe, affektiewe en perseptuele versteurings was van minder identifikasie belang vir die gesinne. Soos voarspel kon word, was daar verskille tussen die verstedelikte en landelike gesinne. Landelike gesinne was meer ingestel op die pasienta se probleme, maar verdraagsamer teenoor die aggressiewe gedrag oar die algemeen en minder gewillig om professionele hulp te bekom. Die resultate, waarvan sommige bekend was a.g.v. kliniese observasies en anekdotiese kommunikasies, is nog seide objektief onteed veral in Afrika. Implikasies vir behandeling, sowel as verskeie kruis-kulturele aangeleenthede word bespreek.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Cross-Cultural Indicators of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Aggressive General Hospital Patients

Schlebusch

Wessels

Rzadkowolsky

1990

South African Journal of Psychology

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“…Pioneering investigations such as the WHO studies support the concept that all cultures probably recognize some forms of behaviour as intolerable and label them as illnesses (123,124). However, the lack of descriptive homogeneity, divergences in familial patterning and differences in illness course between cultures suggest that these intolerable illnesses may not be the same phenomena everywhere, let alone that they can or should not all be included under the rubric of schizophrenia.…”

Section: Proposals For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Update on the Epidemiology of Schizophrenia^*

Beiser

Iacono

1990

Can J Psychiatry

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While recent developments such as brain imaging and genetic linkage analysis have been rightly hailed as potential breakthroughs in the investigation of etiology, new technologies must not divert attention from basic problems which continue to hamper research in the field, or encourage the acceptance of overly simplistic answers to a complicated question. In order to study its etiology, a disorder must be clearly defined. While the precision of systems like the RDC (2) and the DSM-III-R (3) has improved diagnostic reliability, these systems are merely a convenient, shared illusion about how best to categorize a still elusive disorder. Conceptualizing the nature and critical features of schizophrenia is important to the mental health field.

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“…Tibu sugo, literally 'fall like a rock; is held to be highly contagious by a large part of the population, above all in its &dquo;feminine or humid&dquo; form (as in other African cultures, the means of contamination is identified by the foaming at the mouth during a crisis: Beiser, Burr, Ravel, Collomb, 1973). In Fulfulde and Bamanan other types of descriptive denominations are used that refer to a different symptom (kiri kfri and kiri kiri mashjen, literally meaning &dquo;tremble&dquo;).…”

Section: Diviners Traditional Healers and Nosologic Categoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Disorders and Traditional Healing Systems Among the Dogon (Mali, West Africa)

Beneduce¹

1996

Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review

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Based on research at the Regional Center of Traditional Medi cine of Bandiagara (Mali), this paper outlines characteristics of the Dogon systems of traditional health care, with particu lar reference to mental disorders. After considering the characteristics of some therapeutic figures (diviners, healers, etc.) and discussing the major nosologic categories inherent in mental disorders, the role of a complementary (semantic, hermeneutic) approach is emphasized together with the need to correlate the use and social significance of nosologic and therapeutic ritual categories with present cultural changes.

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Illnesses of the Spirit Among the Serer of Senegal

Cited by 21 publications

References 16 publications

Cross-Cultural Indicators of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Aggressive General Hospital Patients

Cross-Cultural Indicators of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Aggressive General Hospital Patients

An Update on the Epidemiology of Schizophrenia^*

Mental Disorders and Traditional Healing Systems Among the Dogon (Mali, West Africa)

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Illnesses of the Spirit Among the Serer of Senegal

Cited by 21 publications

References 16 publications

Cross-Cultural Indicators of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Aggressive General Hospital Patients

Cross-Cultural Indicators of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Aggressive General Hospital Patients

An Update on the Epidemiology of Schizophrenia*

Mental Disorders and Traditional Healing Systems Among the Dogon (Mali, West Africa)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

An Update on the Epidemiology of Schizophrenia^*